Frugal (part 6)

This section is largely based on a favorite book. Ok, favorite is probably too strong a word. Let's try -book I enjoyed and would highly recommend- "The Joy of Simple Living" by Jeff Davidson.

Take a look around your home and office. What do you see? More paper, more piles, and more clutter than you can comfortably deal with. When you take a big-picture approach to the current state of your life, an obvious reality confronts you. Complexity has become the hallmark of human existence... As a professional speaker and an author, I see people all around me leading increasingly hectic lives, hoping to get through each day with their sanity intact. With all of the changes that have occurred in the past decade, and with even more changes on the way, I'm not surprised that so many folks are searching for an off-ramp from the rat race. In fact, more and more of us are taking the time to reassess how we run our lives, searching for ways to create simpler, more efficient lifestyles without sacrificing what is truly important.

A frugal life is by definition one that has achieved or is striving for simplicity. I'm not going to go through all of the author's ideas and suggestions for simplifying your life. That is what the book is for. If you'd like more concrete ideas than I give here, please refer to his book. In this post I only want to show that simplifying our lives and homes can help us make better use of what we have in order to get where we want to be.

Now, stop for a minute and think about spring cleaning a room. Although you may not enjoy the act of cleaning itself, how do you feel entering the room afterwards? Think about how it feels to enter a room that is entirely clean. The windows, screens, walls, shelves, floor, everything. How does it feel to be in a room where everything is put away, where there is no clutter, "a place for everything and everything in its place"? Imagine your life having the feel of a spring cleaned room. How much better will you be able to pursue goals? How much better will you be able to use your resources?

Every item you bring into your home adds weight to your life. The weight may be mental, emotional, physical or visual. That additional bottle of nail polish? It needs a home. It needs care. It takes up space - mentally, physically and visually.

From The Joy of Simple Living: Stuff accumulates. You don't have to be rich to quickly gather possessions. Society is awash with material things. In any household today, particularly one with kids, you're likely to have more stuff in more rooms than you could have witness at any other time in history... As you begin to clear out portions of your home, car, and office, magical and mystical things occur. You gain a feeling of space, ease, control, and simplicity.

When it comes to "things", only let into your home those you truly need or really love. Look closely at that item tempting you at the store. Is there a place for it in your house? Is it your number one choice to fill that space? Does it add to/support your values and goals? What are the consequences of bringing it into your house? Use those same principles and examine the activities in your life. The idea is to use resources for the things you truly value. Free up your mental, emotional and physical power, as well as your time, for those things.

One of the best things we have done is to reduce the amount of "stuff" in our life. If we don't use it or love it - it goes. If we don't need it or love it - it doesn't get in. Having less to clean, dust, organize, and move around is extremely liberating. That's not to say we don't have "stuff" and we don't decorate. Browse through my past posts and you will see. There is definitely "stuff" in my life. My home is beautifully (I think) decorated. But every item is carefully scrutinized before being allowed in and periodically we review the things in our house and purge those things that no longer meet our criteria.

Activities are examined closely as well. We don't have television, we don't have a video game system and very few PC games. Beorn and I decided that those activities did not meet our family's values and goals. Our children participate in very few extracurricular activities. Again, only those which directly support our family's values and goals. I am continually thinning out the kids' toys. How many toys do kids need anyway? (see my FYI post). And the result of fewer toys has been amazing. My kids play more (in actual time amount) and more creatively with what they have and I spend less time cleaning up or getting them to clean up. More time for me to pursue my goals and interests and instilling our values in our children... truly a win-win situation.

So... number six: simplify.